Well Hello

Hello my dear friends and family!!!

how is life? 

life here in the AZ sun is pretty well okay... EXCEPT FOR ITS BLAZING HOT!!!

yes yes dear friends that time has come, that dreaded 3 digit weather. we almost hit it yesterday, we were only 1 degree off from 100 (so for my mathematically challenged friends aka me) that means it was 99. BIKING IN 99!!!  IN APRIL!!! there are supposed to be these things called april showers but NOPE JUST APRIL PREHEATING. all my arizona friends are probably like "c'mon sister cordon this isnt even bad" and i know this, but i also just know that its going to GET WORSE!! this ice cube is gonna melt!!!

anyway, we got an awesome referral we are trying to get in with so thats fun,

also GUESS WHAT?? so i did some lds.org sleuthing because i am a sleuther  

and i found that the ogden temple is around 27,000 square feet larger than the gilbert temple. which is also nuts!

​ogden

gilbert

it does not look like it but it is!! 

i love my temples so much!!

i love the peace i can find there, even just in the parking lot or  on the grounds. we bike there for our work outs in the morning and i just feel so loved!! i feel like i am im a place where i am not judged and where i am safe.

i know this gospel is true!! it makes me happy when i am sad, and it gives me the strength to push on. i will admit, there are days when i want to go home, where i miss my mountains and i miss my family. there are days when i dont want to get on my bike and talk to people. but, i am a daughter of the Most High God and gosh diddly darn it i have a work to do. because there are other children of the Most High God who dont know this, who are sad, alone, or dont know where they can find peace, and joy and i know we can be happy through christ BECAUSE of christ. thats why im out here, why i have been out here  for 7 months and why i am staying out for the last 11 because that message, that HOPE is so important!!

anyway that is my rant for the week, i dont have any funny stories just that THIS RANDOM LADY FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND HER FRIEND WERE MOVING THIS GIGANTIC PLANT so of course we stop and offer to help, ya know doing the missionary thing living the missonary life and she said yes! so we helped her move like 200 plants, of various sizes she does this thing where her entire garden was in pots and containers, it was cool, but a pain in the bottom to move, we ended up calling the elders and havingthem do it while we talked to the women. they were super grateful and it was fun :)

anywho!! thats it for this week folks!! hope you have had a wonderous day full of joy and smiles :)

and Jesus, cause Jesus is pretty much the most amazing person ever :)

Love yall and cant wait to hear from you!
love

sister, sestra, hermana (what have you) cordon

this is me next to a school that shows the temperature,

yup its heating up!! and i do not know what to do about it!

also, i had a friend send me this picture because my companion says its my spirit animal and all i can think of is 

hello!! want to learn about jesus and the book of mormon? it makes me happy!!!

 :)

EASTER BUNNY!!

ward parties rock

yes yes it is that time again my friends, have i taken pictures, yes yes i did

am i going to be sassy? probably i do not know i cant remember what pictures i have taken

1.it was a rough day so we biked to the temple, (we are close enough to do that) and yes, i straightened my hair it is getting so long and the eternal battle of a woman is beginning  should i chop it or let it grow? open for suggestions

2. we have bunny ears to make the small kids smile (all of my photogenic ness is gone im so sorry)

3.this is my companion, she is wearing a awesome hat

4. yes yes this is a thing

5. i need this bike. do you see that massive basket they fit full sized children think of how many book of mormons i could fit!!!

okay now to the mass of the email of the mass email :)

so this is a tree i bike past all the time. its actually in front of one of my ward buildings. if you can see the tree grew around the things used to try and get it to grow straight. and one things i learned is that alot of times we are either like this tree or the supports, too stubborn to  give an inch. and eventually it just ends up doing everyone harm. 

how often are we like this?

i know for me and my crazy bull headedness and just over all stuck in the mud its alot of the time. and sometimes we just have to submit  ourselves to the will of god.

i love being a missionary, because as i learn to be a willing tool in the lords hand we see miracles. sometimes things are hard, sometimes someone might seem open to god but then will reject the gospel. 

then there are times when its worth it. when all the tears the sweat (i am never not sweaty now its nasty) and heartache is worth it.

we tracted into this man, who does not even believe in god, and sat there on his doorstep for 30 minutes teaching him. we do not know if we made an impact, but i am so glad i followed the promptings!

the first one was to go a street down further than what we thought

the second was to turn right and not left 

the third was that we were not where we needed to be on that street

and the fourth was to knock on his specific door

i know that jesus christ lives. i know that this is his church on the  earth. how? because if this wasnt if this was false, i should not have gotten those promptings. i would not.

this easter was amazing, although i missed home quite a bit to be honest. i would not want to be anywhere else. this is so true. and i know that no matter what we may be going through, this gospel, this church, is the way to grow closer to jesus christ. i know it!! if you dont believe me, isnt it worth the ask? isnt it worth the prayer? isnt it worth reading the book? whats the worst that could happen?

i love this season, i love worshiping christ and thinking about him and his Resurrection and the hope that brings to each of us!! i just love it!!

also, biking for dayyyyys!!! its surprisingly easy to bike in a skirt, and even more surprisingly fun!

my companion is doing well

i am doing well

and i love you all alot!!

thank you!!

sister hermana sestra what have you cordon

WHAT IS LIFE?

yes it is a very existential question, and that is a very very big word for me that i do not understand. but really what is life? 

its a measure of time filled with really really awesome things, and also really really hard things. like dealing with things that you have never had to deal with!

but its also so amazing, this is why heavenly father gave us life, so that we can learn to that we can grow and become better!! and even though sometimes we mess up ALOT (points at self) we can have peace and we can turn to the savior and have all of those mistakes washed away in his love. its amazing and it makes me so very happy! thats the whole reason for easter!! thats the whole reason for life, is so we could learn, and that we could be happy!

thats one of the things that i have learned this week, that beyond the sleepless tear filled nights, beyond the sorrow and the pain, and all of the crap life throws at you. we can find joy!! we can be happy as we give all of that to christ and just try and live in his arms!

its really awesome, Christs atonement is so real!! its amazing and i love it! it makes me want to smile all the time as i talk about it! he Lives! he conquered death! and he conquered all of our sins all of our pain. he did everything for each of us individually! no matter what we are going through HE STILL LOVES US 

anywho yeah this week has been alot of fun we had another choir concert witch was nuts!!

and we saw this thing some kids had written on the sidewalk.

Why is ian bad at percussion?

1.) i dont know

2.) i dont know

3.) i dont know

thank you ian, i am terrible at percussion as well!.... actually i am terrible at  many many things

its just awesome seeing how much we are loved, how when you are having a really rough day he will just send you the perfect thing, like someone writing you a letter or giving you a call or even just saying a prayer for you. or pushing back a day you were going to go to the temple with a returning less active so you can go right when you need it the most and have her say just what you needed to hear!  (we had a spanish session so we had the little translators! it was fun :) )

i love you all quite a bit :)

keep the faith!

sestra, sister, hermana, (what have you) cordon

hello!!!

well howdy!!!!!!

so this week has been basically awesome

we had zone conference on wendnesday

went to the temple on friday

had GENERAL CONFERENCE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

so yeah i am on a spiritual high right now!!

also, scorpion season is officially starting... pray for me please!!

my companion got in a rough bike accident this week, so i got to clean up her nasty road rash... it was actually alot of fun!! also its great we are biking everywhere, my poor tailbone is even getting bruised, but its SOO MUCH FUN!! i love it!! (now just wait to hear what kind of song i will be singing when it gets up to 115 this summer... whahoo... so excited!) pray for me in that regard as well!

also, i sleep on the top bunk... yup, just imagine little 5 ft 2 in scared of heights me climbing up there (no ladder) and sleeping for 9 1/2 hours... its actually alot better than it was the first few nights!! i havent fallen off yet....i just need all the prayers!

i love this gospel so much, my favorite talk was by elder jeffery r holland of the quorum of the 12 apostles. he just talked about no matter how hard it is to find joy, hold on to Christ and he will guide us through lifes challenges. and that no matter what we have done, God still wants us in his choir. it hit me really hard. because man, life sucks! sometimes things dont go your way, you have a rough day, a rough, week or a rough transfer. but no matter how hard it may be to find joy, as we turn to christ we can find it, and if we cant quite yet. thats okay!! keep turning to christ! keep pressing on and find the solace that he brings. he is the balm in Gilead! so many people, from across the world and history have tried to conquer so many things, they have tried to conquer the world with guns and violence, they rule over nations, and yet, they could not do what he did./ he was the only one who could conquer death. he is the prince of peace, the messiah, the savior of the world. and through him we can find strength through lifes trials we can find hope through tragedies and hardships. he calmed troubled seas, he can calm our troubled hearts. its amazing!! because of him we will never be alone and we can find peace!! thats what the new easter video is all about and its awesome, its about how christ over came death and how he is the prince of peace. and thats it! because in the end, he is the most important thing, that he lived, died, and then lived again

 i love you all quite a bit. yall rock!!

sister, hermana, sestra, whatever you want to call it cordon

Link to Elder Holland's talk

https://www.mormon.org

and another transfer down

hello folks!

yup i am no longer in the prison aka florence! i have been moved\transferred to the Temple View zone! which as you may be able to tell means that i am by the temple! which is fun!

my new companion is sister king from California and she is a doll. 

hm i do not know what to write about 

we are actually on all bike all the time now, (i jinxed myself with the last email)but it is fun! i went from covering 1 ward to 3 so yeah i am pretty stressed out. but thats alright!! i am really excited to work here. its going to be hard./ but hey hards alright when things are hard that is when you learn to grow and when you see just what you can do with the lords help. 

in gospel principles (one of the three.. yeah its alot of church) we watched a video about justice v mercy and why we need a savior

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/the-mediator?lang=eng (the link to it) 

and something hit me

so its talking about this kid who wanted something really bad, so bad that he got in with a bad creditor then he didnt really ever try to pay off his debt then the money was due and he didnt have it. and was about to go to jail. the video then says 

"There is a way the law of justice can be fully satisfied and mercy can be fully extended, but it requires another. And so it happened this time the debtor's friend came to help. He knew the debtor well. He knew him to be short sighted. He thought him foolish to have gotten himself into such a predicament.

 Nevertheless, he wanted to help because he loved him.

 the friend then says; I will pay the debt if you will free the debtor of this contract, so that he can keep his possessions and not go to prison. You demanded justice. Though he cannot pay you, I will do so. You will have been justly dealt with, and can ask no more. It would not be just. If I pay your debt,(he turns to his friend) will you accept me as your creditor?

the man responded yes, oh yes. and his friend continued

Then you will pay the debt to me, and I will set the terms. It will not be easy, but it will be possible. I will provide a way. You need not go to prison.

of course the friend accepted this mercy. and it made me think about how jesus christ has done this for us, he has redeemed us, all that he asks is that we fulfill his terms. which are to have faith and exercise faith in him. repent of our wrongs and turn our hearts to him. follow his example and be baptized, receive the gift of the holy ghost and continue to follow him to the best of our ability. (the gospel of jesus christ... it is literally everywhere!!) not because he is not powerful enough to take upon himself all of our sins, or that his grace somehow is not enough. but because it is how we become comfortable to be in his presence.

i love you all, sorry no funny comments today. i will be better next week!!

love

hermana, sister, sestra, whatever you choose to call it, cordon

I like to ride my bicycle! I like to ride my bike!

(because i can talk to people! and teach them about christ!!)

heya folks!

so after i learned from the acostas how to throw it down jujitsu style (dont mess with me?)

we have has some very interesting conversations. its sad how many people dont believe in god anymore. its soo sad! i know that god lives i know that he sent his son to die for us. to take away our pain. 

but the best part is that he did what no one else could do and he ROSE from the grave. i love the gospel, and i know that there is still hope!

haha so transfers happened, and i am finally leaving florence.. i know i know so sad! but it actually is really great! it means i can meet new people and that i can continue to testify of jesus christ :) which is super fun. i love the people here, but i know i will love whoever i meet in my next area 

hmmm so there was this guy we met, his name is antonio and he started to anti us then said he wanted to come to church? so hes going to come next week. also, i have been on my mission for over 6 months! and i still have no clue what i am doing!! sister sprouse says that she still is afraid of people and doesnt know what she is doing... but she is just saying that to make me feel better for sure.

whelp guys. i dont really have any crazy stories...

except for the fact that we moved 2 people in one day... yup... they were switching houses... please for the love of humanity and missionaries who help people move. dont switch houses without thoroughly planning it out with your neighbor. it was a mess!

love you all!

sister, hermana, sestra, whatever you wish to use, cordon

1 jujitsu... how does this happen?

2 yup it cuts off your blood flow to your brain, aka carotid artery ITS SO COOL!

3 bunnies bunnies everywhere(could this be the mythical easter bunny?)

4 sleepy easter bunny

5 cacti bloom and it is pretty!

6 my car was lying it was only like 98 degrees but its still a good photo

also this.

Still Kicken!

Hello friends and family!! this week has been a crazy one and it starts with a crazy guy we met who has the name of sam speed. sam speed is a great guy who happens to be black, and believes that jesus was black, all jews are black, (the jews now are just converts) and that white people were once upon a time the spawn of satan, but now we all have a bit of every color in us so the doctrine that Paul taught ( because pauls doctrine changed Jesus's doctrine apparently... i am confused!!) says that everyone can be saved now so it doesnt matter what color you are.... yeah i am confused last time i checked i am not the spawn of satan.

then we met a couple he is jehovahs witness and she is something called bahai?  anywho they let us come over and help them move which was cool #buildinggoodrelationsbetweenjdubsandmormonsisgood?

#hewantedustoonedaybejdubs... (jdubs= jehovah witnesses)

#notgonnahappenbro

#maybeyouwillbeamormon!

also miles are tight so we are biking alot which is actually tons of fun because we get to talk to soo many people!!! #returnappointmentsupthewazoo

then the crowning funny event of the week is in testimony meeting this sunday (people of the congergation bear their witnesses of jesus christ and how they come to know that the church is true... i dont know how to explain it) anywho a kid got up and said "i would like to bear my testimony i pooped a big poop and i am glad i pooped," then his dad came up and was like "this is sacrament meeting, we talk about jesus" so the kid continues " i love jesus and i want to hug you jesus but i can't because your in heaven" thank you small child you made my day

yeah this week was fun but its also been really spiritual as well, we got to testify alot of jesus christ and how our heavenly father is there and that God is real which was really  cool and it was awesome we have been working with this 8 year old whos mom wanted her to take the lessons her name is kira i have talked about her before, but she was baptized this last saturday and she brought a friend! and this friend came to church and sat by us then she looked up at sister sprouse and said " i want to be baptized!" it was really cool we are going to see if her parents are on board as well!

also another little kid bore their testimony on sunday, she told a story about how she had let her dog out to go to the bathroom and then when she was opening the door to let the dog back in it got stuck, she tried a whole 2 times but the door would not open. so she said a prayer asking that the door would get unstuck and it did! its cool, we never think about praying about simple stuff like that but we should! no matter how small or simple it is, our heavenly father wants to hear from us and bless us! all we need is the faith to look for the answers!

i know that this church is true. i know it with every atom of my body and bit of my soul. and i KNOW that God is real, he loves us, he is the father of our spirits and he sent us here to learn, he is not sadistic and he did not set us up to fail, because he provided us with a savior. he gave his son, jesus christ, who was perfect, and jesus christ was willing to take upon himself everything that can keep us from God. If we follow him, we will be washed clean of those things. 

he sent us here to experience pain and sadness and death, only so that we would know their opposites and that we would learn to turn to him. its like in second Nephi chapter 2 verses 22-25

If adam had not trangressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of eden... and [adam and eve] would have had no children; werefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good; for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy.

also in 2 nephi chapter 2 verse 11 it says:

for it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. if not so... righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. wherefore all things must needs be a compound in one...
 

i know alot of scriptures, but they make my point. bad things happen in the world, not because heavenly father is sadistic or absent. but because we have the ability to choose. and because if we didnt know what was bad in the world, how would we know the good?

this is soo much better explained in that chapter in the Book of Mormon, its 2 nephi chapter 2

and it rocks!

i know that heavenly father loves each of us individually!! he knows us!!

i love you all, now i am off to shop, and learn some more jujitsu... i will take pictures this time!

love 

you know who :)

1 goals

2 kids that i built a train with

3 when the library is closed you email at members.. when you email at members your companion emails first, when your companion emails first you get roped into building a train

4 one festive pooch